Whistle-recorder for locomotive-engines



;(No Model.) V 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. L. HOUGHTON & W. 1. FOX. WHISTLE RECORDER FOR LOGOMOTIVE ENGINES. No. 376,525.

Patented Jan. 1'7, 1888.

, (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

0. L. HOUGHTON &. W. I. POX. I WHISTLE RECORDER FOR LOOOMOTIYE ENGINES. No 376,525

Patented "Jan; 17, 1888.

wiudm N4 PETERS. PlwlvLilhogrnphcr. Wiuhinglcvl. D C.

- a sheets-sh et s. R G. L. HOUGHTON & W. I. FOX. WHISTLE RECORDER FOR LOGOMOTIV-E ENGINES. No. 376,525.

(No Model.)

Patented Jan. 1'7, 1888.

kxxx lid-n23 xeboaa 20D z sux fiu azuza 6z55. 823

..... J EEP 535 wsmm ho e N. PETERS, Fhclo-Lillmgmpben Washington. D. C.

UNITED S ATES PATENT OFFIcE.

CHARLES L. HOUGHTON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, AND WASHINGTON I. FOX, OF FITCHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO THEMSELVES AND GEORGE W. WEYMOUTH, OF FITCHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS.

-WHlSTLE-RECORDER FOR LOCOMOTlVE-ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 376,525, dated January 17, 1888.

' Application filed January 20, 1887. Serial No. 224,849. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, CHARLES L. HoUeH- TON, of New Haven, in the State of Connecticut, and WASHINGTON I. FOX, of Fitchburg, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Whistle-Recorders for Locomotive-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

Speed-recorders for locomotives have been ro made in which a strip of paper passes over and is turned by a cylinder that is driven by a connection to a wheel running upon the railway-track, and a pencil rests upon the paper and is moved laterally by a holder that is actir ated by a clock-movement, the paper having previously been ruled lengthwise with parallel lines to indicate minutes or other divisions 7 of time, and ruled transversely to indicate miles, stations, crossings, 850., so that time and distance will be indicated by the pencilmark, and the time of arriving at each station and crossing each roadway will be shown on the paper.

In some States it is required by law that the 1 whistle be blown or the bell rung in approaching each crossing, and in cases of accidents the liability of a railway company for damages often depends upon the fact whether or not the whistle was blown and at the proper place.

The object of our present invention is to make upon the speed-indicating paper an ac curateand reliable record of the blowing of the "alarm-whistle upon the locomotive.

With this object in view we employ a cyl- 3 5 inder or roller which is revolved at a proper proportionate movement to the train by a connection to a wheel upon the track, so that for every mile traveled of the train a sheet or strip of paper on said cylinder will have '40 moved a certain distance with such cylindersay an eighth of an inch; and in carrying out our invention we combine with the paper and the means for moving it and the cylinder or roller a stamp or recording-marker that is 5 moved by a connection to the whistle-rod, so that the paper that is marked off with lines corresponding to the miles traveled and indicates the roads or stations of the railway willalso contain a correct record of the places at which the whistle is blown, and it will also show the period of time during which the whistle is sounded.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation showing the cylinder over which the paper passes, the marker, and the connections to the 5 5 whistle-rod. Fig. 2 is a section through the cylinder at the line :0 m. Fig. 3 is a section in larger size through the marker at the line y y of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a view of a piece of the paper employed.

The shaft A is connected by any suitable train of gearing with a wheel rolling upon the railway-track. A connection suitable for this purpose is represented in Letters Patent No. 153,470 to W. \V. \Vythe, June 18, 1874. At the upper end of this shaft A is a bevelgcar, B.

C and D are bevel-gears connected together by the sleevel upon the shaft 2 of the cylinder E, and 3 is a clamp-screw, by which the sleeve and gear 0 D are connected to the shaft 2. This allows the sleeve and gears to be loosened and moved in either direction endwise upon the shaft, so as to bring the gear D or the gear C into contact with the bevel-gear B, so that the cylinder E may be revolved in the proper direction when the car or engine upon which the apparatus is mounted may be going either one way or the other upon the railway-track.

The strip of paper F (see Figs. 2 and 4) is the same as generally employed in a speed-indicator, and it is divided transversely by parallel lines at equal distances apart, and these parallel lines bear such a relation to the gearing by which the cylinder E is revolved that for every mile traveled by the engine or car the strip of paper will move thesdistance that indicates a mile by such parallel lines, and usually there will be intermediate lines indicating the half and quarter miles; also, upon 0 the margin of the strip of paper, adjacent to these parallel lines, should be printed the names of the stations upon the railway, and also marks indicatingthe places at which roads or highways cross the tracks. If the strip of 5 paper is also made use of as a speed and time recorder, there will be longitudinal parallel lines to indicate hours, quarter-hours, and

half-hours, and a train of gearing and clockwork will be made use of to move a pencil across this strip of paper to mark thereon the time, as illustrated in Letters Patent Nos. 153,470 and 173,251, to \V. WV. Vythe; but this part of the apparatus does not form any necessary feature in connection with our present invention, because a record of the places at which the whistle is blown can be made upon the strip of paper without any record of time being taken.

A small wheel or roller, G, preferably with a rubber edge, is pressed upon the paper by a spring, 4, acting upon the stock 5, that carries the arbor of the roller, and this wheelinsures the proper contact of the paper with the cylinder E, so that such paper will be moved by such cylinder without risk of slipping.

The whistle-rod H is of ordinary construction, and it passes to the whistle of the locomotive, and it is pulled down to sound the whistle, as usual.

K. is a vertical rod supported in slides or bearings 6, in which it can be moved, and there is a spring, 7, surrounding the lower part ofthe rod and acting against the nut S to move the rodK downwardly until it comes into contact with an adjustable screw-stop, 9.

Between the whistle-rod H and the vertical rod K are the link-bars L M, hinged together and pivoted at their outer ends to the rods H K, respectively, and 10 is a stop upon the rod K, against which the link M comes in contact as the whistle-rod H is lifted, so that as the whistle-rod H is moved vertically and the sounding of the whistle ceases the links L M will lift the rod K as soon as the link M comes into contact with the stop 10; but when the whistle-rod is drawn down to blow the whistle the spring 7 causes the rod K to descend with the desired force until arrested by the stop 9, and this motion takes place with the slightest movement of the whistle-rod H; but said rod H may be drawn down to any desired extent, because the links L M swing freely upon their respective pivots without giving any further movement to the rod K. This stop 10 is in the form of a lateral proj ection upon the rod K, against which the link M stops when swinging toward said rod K. Upon this rod K is an arm, K, and connected with this arm is a marker, 0, of any suitable character, which is brought into contact with the paper every time the whistlerod is drawn u down, as before mentioned, and by the adjustment of the stop 9 the marker may be arrested at the proper point, so that it does not press too heavily upon the paper. We also, by pref' erence, provide the adjustments hereinafter described for the marker.

WVe prefer to make use of a hardened steel punch, having at its end a small cross or penetrating points, by which the fabric of the paper will be indelibly impressed every time the marker is brought down upon its surface. This marker is preferably upon the lower end of a stock, 12, sliding in a vertical tubular socket, 13, in which there is an expansive spring, 14, that is suffieiently stiff to insure the proper pressure of the marker upon the paper, but which spring will yield should the movement of the socket be too great. There is a guide-eye, P, through which the socket 13 slides, and said guide-eye is provided with a screw-shank and clamping-nuts 15, by which the eye is firmly supported upon a bracket, Q, upon the frame that supports the cylinder E, and the parts can be adjusted so as to bring the marker 0 perpendicularly above the axis of the cylinder E. The upper end of the socket 13 is screwed into the slide-block 16, and there is a bridle, R, upon the arm K, that can be adjusted to its proper position, and it is provided with a T-piece, 17, upon which the block 16 slides, and there are clampingserews to hold the parts in place after they have been properly adjusted. By these means the marker of the whistlereeorder can be impressed at the desired distance from the edge of the strip of paper, and the impression will be made every time the whistle is blown.

It will now be understood that the paper is always in motion when the engine is moving, and that the divisions employed upon the paper indicate correctly the distances traveled; hence the marker will denote upon the paper exactly the places at'whieh the whistle is sounded, and the record is made automatically and shows whether or not the engineer did his duty in sounding the whistle at the required places; and the apparatus is to be inelosed in a proper case, which is shown at S U, and this is to be locked, so that the record cannot be changed or tampered with, and the record is to be removed at the end of the trip by a properly-authorized person and kepton file as a record of the particular trip of the engine, the number of which and the name of the engineer should be marked upon the strip.

One strip of paper can be made use of to record a round trip-that is to say, a trip to a distant place and return; but upon the return trip the strip of paper will necessarily be moved the other end first to bring the stations in their proper relative order; hence the cylinder E will be revolved in one direction when vgoing one way and in the other direction upon the return trip. The bevel-gearing O D and the connecting-sleeve allow the parts to be set so that the cylinder E will be revolved in the correct direction, even though the engine always goes head first. The impressions made by the marker 0 upon the return trip must not be in the same line as the impressions made during the outgoing trip, and the bridle B may be moved along upon the arm K, and also the guide-eye P may be slipped along in the slot through which its screw passes, so as to bring the marker 0 to a different line upon the paper; but it is usually preferable to form the stock 12 of the marker with a crank-arm, at the end of which is the marker, so that by giving the stock of the marker a half-revolution in its tubular socket 13 the marker will be in a dif- IIO ferent line upon the paper, and one set of impressions will be separate from the other.

The pencil-holder u is supported by and slides upon the bars 1); and q is a rod extending to the time-gearing or clock-work,-so that the pencil is moved along ata regular rateper hour corresponding to the longitudinal lines on the paper denoting hours.

WVe claim as our invention- 1. The combination, with the whistle-rod in a locomotive-engine, of a marker and a revolving cylinder for receiving and moving the strip of paper, a slide-rod, a spring for operating the marker and impressing it upon the paper when the Whistle is sounded, and a connection betweenthe whistle-rod and marker, whereby the marker is raised from the paper by the upward movement of the Whistle-rod, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the cylinder for giving motion to the paper and a marker to be impressed upon such paper, of a slide-rod and arm carrying the marker, a spring to give the impression, the whistle-rod, links for connecting the Whistle-rod and slide-rod, and a stop against which one of the links comes in contact for lifting the marker, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the whistle-rod in a locomotive-engine, of a slide-rod and an arm extending therefrom, link-bars connecting the whistle-rod and slide-rod, respectively,a spring for actuating the slide'rod when released, a marker, the revolving cylinder for receiving and moving the strip of paper, and mechanism, substantially as specified, connecting the marker adj ustably with the arm of the sliderod, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the whistle-rod in a locomotive-engine, of a slide-rod and an arm extending therefrom, link-bars pivoted together and to the whistle-rod and slide-rod, respectively, a stop upon the slide-rod against which one link-bar engages to raise the sliderod, a spring for actuating the slide-rod downwardly when released, and an adjustable stop for limiting the movement, a marker, the revolving cylinder for receiving and moving the strip of paper, and mechanism, substantially as specified, connecting the marker adjustably with the arm of the slide-rod, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the whistle-rod in a locomotive-engine, a slide-rod and extending arm, and mechanism, substantially as specified, for connecting the parts and also for operating the slide-rod, of a marker and a revolving cylinder for receiving and moving a strip of paper, a socket, 13, receiving the stock of the marker, a spring, 14, bearing against the marker-stock, a guide-eye, P, through which the socket plays, a block supporting the socket, a bridle, R, upon the arm of the slide-rod, and a T-piece, 17, formed therewith and supporting the block 16, and bolts for clamping the parts, substantially as specified.

Signed by us this 7th day of January, A. D. 1887.

CHARLES L. HOUGHTON. \(VASHINGTON I. FOX.

Witnesses:

P. J .Asnn, JOHN 0. LE ROY. 

